Thursday, October 13, 2011

Shenanigans

The Rake, the Rake, the fucking RAKE. I am SO TEMPTED to devote my life to the study of KILLING THE DAMN THING. Ever since it caught us outside the wards, it has been furiously patrolling, and attempting to cross over on a regular basis. It was patrolling after the attack, but not like this. This is just unholy. Every time it sees myself or Skan, it rears up and does that horrid screeching thing. Goddamn otherworldly noise...

To make it worse, it picks at the wards almost...every time we see it. Like, it is doing it on purpose just to fuck with us. Skan, in particular. It will claw furiously at trees, rear up and screech, or just sit there and watch..Then it slowly makes its way at a ward, as if testing its power. It's always been repelled, but....
ITS SO UNNERVING. To watch it, I mean. The same feeling every time. Will it make it by this time? Will the wards fail, will it get used to them, so many questions with no answers...

In other news, The Faceless hasn't shown up again. And I keep dreaming about Hawk tied up in a dark room with a chain on the door.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The woods

Skan and I started our hunt today. The first place the second beetle stopped on the map was just a few paces out into the woods, so that's where we decided to go first, just to see if they left clues behind.
This is the first time that I've put on all of my hunting equipment since Skan picked us up. I was reluctant at first...Images of an old life. But it's that old life that's going to help me get him back. So I put  on my black outfit, my boots, and strapped on my old, trusty swords. Both of them...Yes. I need to do this. I tucked the knives away, hid other miscellaneous gear, and stepped out into the living room to wait for Skan.

Oh, my god. The woman looks JUST like me, except in camo with a shotgun instead of swords. Well. All right then, let's do this.

We had also packed several pouches of rue, just in case we ran into the Rake. This is the first time in a while either of us had gone past the wards, and with the clawed one's recent feverish activity..Both of us are pretty paranoid people, which as an aside got me to thinking...What if we made a device that shot rue oil or something like it at the Rake...Sort of a destructive anti-Rake water gun apparatus? Hmm. Might have to consider that for later. When I have him back. Have to get him back.

The air changed on the other side of the wards...Out in the woods, things felt...oppressive. I think Skan felt it too. She looked as nervous as I did, if not more. We started in a clockwise direction and began a circuit of the house, eyes on the trees and the ground, searching for anything out of place. But the area seemed....It seemed TOO perfectly placed. No broken sticks, claw marks, displaced leaves, nothing.

Nothing until 4pm. That's when we stumbled across Hypnos' abandoned camp. It surprised me, actually. From the tracks and the layout lines, the camp was laid out in a typical military style, wasting no space..They had defenses set up as well. Stands in the trees, hidden holes..Did these people actually think we were going to attack them? Heh, I'm flattered Hypnos. Really, I am. I would have loved to.

And....wards? So that is how they kept the Rake at bay. They seemed to copy a lot of Skan's wardings, which slightly amused her, I think. They even hung up a few of our painted rock wards from the catapult after the assault. How touching. As we moved through the camp, Skan noticed a tent depression off in the far corner, barely inside the wards. The area bore little resemblance to the rest of the camp..Broken limbs, scratches in the trees, holes in the ground...  And a hastily buried piece of rope with a washer attached to the end. One from his necklace...So this is where they held him.

Oh shit. Is that...moving in the trees? Fuck it, we've been out too long. The Rake found us. Skan and I booked it back to the house, but it didn't seem interested in trying to rip our throats out this time. It was more like...Well, you know how a shepherd dog runs cattle? Like that. Strange. Discomforting, too, in a way.

The next spot on the map is a small town to the east. Skan says we can take a day or two trip with the car and check it out in a couple days.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The conversation went a little like this.

Skan: So..How you going to know where to go? You've never been around here before...
Me: I'll find him. I have to find him.
Skan: I could help. Let me come with you.
Me: Hell no. If something happened to you...I'd hate myself forever.
Skan: I think I can take care of myself. You need someone to watch your back, and he's my friend as well.
Me: I'm not hearing it, woman.
Skan: I will duct tape your ass to a chair and beat you with a hose until you agree.
Me: .............
Skan: Yeah. I'll start packing.

So, Skan and I are going Hawk hunting. I'm afraid of what she'd do to me if I tried to leave without her.... And...I'm grateful for the company. We make a good team, I have to say. 

Hawk, if you read this somehow, we're going to find you.